SPOKANE — No. 5 seed Almira/Coulee-Hartline’s season came to a close Wednesday night in Spokane, falling 41-32 to No. 12 Garfield-Palouse in the Round of 12 in the 1B Girls State Basketball Tournament. 

The Warriors trailed the Vikings by one point entering the fourth quarter but struggled to score in the final eight minutes. 

“They’re aggressive, and they’ve got some height and athleticism – our girls struggled with that,” ACH Head Coach Matt Elder said. “Our girls are small and short, and when girls can get into us it makes it kind of tough. Even if we can get by girls, they were still there – it’s not like we were blowing by them. That was the big thing for us.”

ACH found themselves down early in the game, first by 10 in the first quarter then by as many as 12 points in the second quarter. Once sophomore Naomi Molitor connected on a three-pointer midway through the second quarter, the Warriors began to chip away at the Viking lead; ACH trailed 23-16 at the break.

“That’s the key, they needed to see it go in in order to get into the feel of the game,” Elder said. “Eventually it did get there, but we were down by 10 by then.”

To begin the third frame, ACH put together a 10-3 scoring run by forcing Garfield-Palouse turnovers and connecting on shots in the paint, tying the game at 26 on a lay-up by sophomore Peyton Roberts and again at 30 on a lay-up by Molitor. By the end of the third quarter, ACH trailed 31-30.

“We went to more of a spread offense and started trying to move quicker,” Elder said. “Trying to get some more movement on our offense instead of trying to do the on-the-ball screens. That really helped us, and (No. 5) got her fourth foul – that really set them back.”

The momentum from tying the game didn’t carry on into the final eight minutes of Wednesday’s game, as the Warriors only put up two points in the fourth quarter. Garfield-Palouse opened the quarter with a three-pointer to go up by four points and held on for a 41-32 win.

“For some reason – either we let up or just got gassed – all of sudden they just sort of settled in,” Elder said. “We could never really take that momentum and get a big lead on it.”

ACH, who finishes the year with a 19-13 record and the team’s first state berth since 2019, will graduate two players from this year’s roster; seniors Beth Okamoto and Natalie Evers.

“They have great attitudes, they’re great girls,” Elder said. “Great teammates. I think that’s what’s the difference; all those girls play together, like each other and they’re a good team … our seniors are a big part of that.”

For the returning Warriors, Elder said he hopes they take this state experience and build off of it in the future.

“Hopefully they’re hungry to get back here, and not have that feeling at the end of the season where you lose it,” Elder said. “Remember this, it was a great experience, we accomplished our goals to get to state; but now, hopefully, they’re hungry to get a little bit more.”

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.

Box Score

G-P: 13-5-8-10 41
ACH: 5-11-14-2 32

    ACH senior Natalie Evers, in white, dribbles the ball down the court in the second half against Garfield-Palouse.
  

    ACH senior Beth Okamoto attempts a three-pointer in the fourth quarter against Garfield-Palouse.